MANILA, Philippines – While the whole world awaits the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that hears the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, which the Philippines has lodged against China, the U.S meanwhile, has urged ASEAN member countries for unity on the court ruling.

On October 29, last year, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines after it ruled that the court has jurisdiction over the case. The international tribunal hears cases concerning disputes in the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The Philippines and the world is expecting that the court would dispense its decision on Tuesday, July 12.

But China has already said it has no intention of participating with proceedings nor it would honor the decision of the court, as previously reported by Morning News USA.

Meanwhile, the U.S, the Philippines’ strongest ally in its territorial dispute with China, has urged countries in the ASEAN region to honor and uphold the decision of the tribunal, Reuters reported.

U.S Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken addressed members of the Congress on Thursday. In his speech he said that China, with its continued defiance of the pending decision from the Permanent Court of Arbitration, is just isolating itself more from fellow Asian countries.

“China has a decision to make. [If] it ignores the decision … it risks doing terrible damage to its reputation, further alienating countries in the region and pushing them even closer to the United States,” Blinken was quoted as saying by the Reuters.

Although the ruling of the court is not binding and it has been ignored in the past, the U.S has been trumpeting that countries, especially the signatory to the convention, to must abide by the ruling of the tribunal.

Loading...

So what can you say about this one? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, and don’t forget to share this blog post to your family and friends online. And also, visit our website more often for more updates.